Napkin dispensing cabinet



Fb 5, 1934- c. o. PARMLEY NAPKIN DISPENSING CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet l`/qllorney Feb. 6, 1934.

C. O. PARMLEY NAPKIN DISPENSING CABINET Filed April 12, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Bymwzn.

`/qllorney Patentedy Feb. 6, 19.34

UNITED STATES s'PENslNG CANNET' Cecil Pa'rxnlev,V Bremerton', Wash.Application April 12, 1933. Serial No. 665,806

This inventionl relates to a paper napkin hold-v er of the dispensingcabinet type used in lunch-l rooms, restaurants, andV similar serviceestablish ments.

Broadly stated, napkin holders of this type now generally in use, are inthe form' of properly proportioned vertically elongated ornamentalcabinet-like casings having one or more open sides through which thenapkms are selectively withdrawn by the customer, means being providedon the interior to facilitate vdispensing by feeding the stack ofnapkins toward the hand opening.l

Fundamentally, my invention is of the same general character and isregarded as lan im provement in that it embodies the followingstructural reiinements and characteristics.

First, opposed sides of the cabinet-like casing are provided withhingedly mounted plates or doors held in closed position by suitableretaining means, eachdoor being formed with a sub stantially circularhand hole beaded around its perimeter to facilitate withdrawal and toavoid tearing of napkins.

Secondly, novelty is predicatedupon a simple and economical suspensionrod on the interior on which spring pressed follower' plates areslidably hung and automatically actuated by the spring means in adirection towards the hand holes to render the napkins readilyaccessible for withdrawal purposes.

Third, novelty is predicated upon the upper end construction of the fourwalls or sides of the cabinet, each of which is formed with channellikeretention guides to accommodate advertising and menu cards, etc., aspecial spring-retained l-id being provided for'co-operation with thesefeatures to hold the cards in place and to facilitate periodicalexchange thereof.

Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent from thefollowing description 'and drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is what may be designated asy a front elevational view showingone' of the hinged1 closures with la substantially circular hand holecovered by an interiorly arranged follower plate,v the napkins beingomitted. I

Figure 2 is a central vertical sectional view through the assemblyshown. in Figure l, with the napkins in dispensing or withdrawalposition.

Figure 3 is a section at rightl angles to Figure 2*, the section beingtaken approximately on the plane of theline 3 3 of Figure 2.

(Ci. S12-61') Figure 4 is a fragmentary side. elevational view' of theupper portion of the structure.-

Figure 5 is a horizontal section takenapproxi? mately on the plane ofthe line 5*-45 o f Figure l;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail sectional view 60'. taken approximatelyon the plane of the line of Figure 1, showing the manner in' v which thelid isshifted over to facilitate'application and r'emovaliof a displayor menu card.l

Attention is iirst invited to Figure 2, wherein it 66 will be observedthat the cabinet is of s'ubstanl` tially rectangular verticallyelongated form, of appropriate' dimensions and preferably con# structedof light-weight metal. It comprises al pai-roi front and rear walls '7and Shaving' their" 70 major lower portions cut away to permit access tobe had to the interior.V As sho-wnin Figure 1, the' open lower portionsof the front and rear walls are surrounded byv three marginal flanges 9kand 10 which serve as stop elements for the' hingedly mounted closingplates or doors 11` and 12.- E'achvdoor is of duplicate construction andformed with ay substantially circula-r hand holeA surrounded by aymarginal rounded bead 13 de= signed to facilitate withdrawal of thenapl'c-risV 80 one-b y-one, and to prevent injury or cutting oftliepatrons hands. Incidently, the handv h'ole V13i iS- Suici'entlylarge to permit the napkinfto be pulled out easily but not so large as'to per`A mit several napkins to be. accidently withdrawn as* is the casewhen relatively large rectangular Withdrawal or hand openings areprovided-.-

VAs shown in Figu're l, the upper' endportion of the closing plates areprovided with clearance notches'-14 which clear adjacent itx'irtioiislof the 00A anges 9. Also, the upper iianged edge" portion of the' plateisreduced as indicated at l5 to provide what may be designated as an'attaching ear, this" being pivoted as at 16- to the-side walls" 117 ofthe casing".

The lower free swingable end portions" of th doors are providedwithresilient retainingvv latches 17 constructed with detents 18 whichsnap into keeper openings formed in the bottom 19 as shown1 in Figurel2. This serves to hold' the two 100 doors in closed position. It alsopermits th'e doors to'be swung outwardly to permit'access tbe had totheinterior for placing the paper napkins 20 in` place.

V It is further shown in Figure 2 that the walls 105 7 and 8 areprovided with countersunk recesses 21` which serve to accommodate theend portions of a centralized horizontally disposed suspension rod: 22;Y

The numeral 23 in Figure `2 designates a verlil.

fro'

its'

461 of the top 29.

tical napkin follower and presser plate whose upper end portions areapertured and slidably suspended from the rod 22. These plates are of anarea commensurate with the proportions of the walls 7 and 8 with whichthey co-operate. They serve to uniformly back up the stack of napkins 20to force them outwardly within con-V venient reach of the hand holes 13.The follower plates are pressed outwardly through the instrumentality ofa properly arranged and tensioned coil spring 24 whose end coils arefastened as at 25 to the follower plate. e

I next call attention to the advertising card, menu, and display means,intended to add greater utility and ornamentation to the structure. Thismeans is located at the upper portion of the cabinet above the hingedends of the doors. The means on each face or side of the cabinet Visexactly the same, and a description of one will sumce for all. The meansVmay be said to comprise three inbent flanges 26 of cross sectionalshape as shown in Figure 5, which iianges serve to function aschannel-shaped guides or receptacles for the removable menu card or thelike 27 a depending pinV or stud 30 which extends downv through theopening into the interior of the f =cabinet., It is provided on itslower end with a.

washer 3 1 held in place by a nut and the washer serves to hold thecoiled closing spring e 32 in position. The spring obviously surroundsthe pin and bears at its upper end against the underside Y 4The capplate is provided around its four edges with depending flanges 33 which-more or less match the aforesaid flanges 26. In other words,

these flanges 26 and 33 co-operate in forming a display panel surroundedby a marginal channel-v shaped frame. The capcan be lifted upwardly inthe direction of the arrow A in Figure 1 and then of the arrow B asshown in Figure 6 to'uncover the lupper open ends of the vertical guidechannels 26 to permit withdrawal and insertion of the cards 27. Y

Specifically summarized, it will beV observed that the principal featureof construction is predicated upon the horizontal suspensionrod 22 yonthe interior of the cabinet carrying the rectangular spring-pressedfollower'` plate 23 co-operating withV the hinged plates or doors 12 toforce lthe napkins Vout against the doors and within convenient reach,access being had through the hand hole 13. o

fAn equal degree of novelty is thought to reside in the centrallyapertured fiat top 29, the correspondingly shaped square plate form-ingVthe body of the lid or cap 28 wherein said plate hasl marginal dependinglianges 33 to engage and hold the cards 27 securely in place in the.channels 26. Stated more explicitly, emphasis is placed on the dependingpin 30 carried by the lid and extending down through the central openingin the top 29 with the associated washer and spring 31 and 32 lproviding spring retaining means for holding the arrangement as topermit the entire cap to be raised up and then shifted over laterally asshown in Figure 6 so as to unco-ver the channel-shaped guides 26 and toallow insertion and removal of display cards. This arrangement is notonly useful, but believed to be ornamental.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction withthe illustrativev drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clearunderstanding of the purpose, features andadvantages, the explicitconstruction, and the invention as hereinafter claimed.

It is to be understood that minor changes in shape, size, relativeproportions, and materials may be resorted to in practice withoutdeparting one wallof said container embodying an opening permittingaccess tobe had tothe interior for Y placing the napkins in position forsubsequent Withdrawal, said opening being surrounded byinturned'marginal stop flanges, a hinged door for closing said opening,said door comprising a plate hingedly connected at its upper end portiontoV the exterior of the casing Aand having its lower swingable endportion movable outwardly and upwardly, said'lower end portion beingprovided with ani inturned resilient retaining latch, .the bottom of thecasing having an opening constituting Aa keeper for said latch, saiddoor plate havinga circular hand hole surrounded by a protectivemarginal bead, and means on therinterior ofthe casing for automaticallyfeeding the napkins into 'easily grasped position, said means comprisinga `horizontal suspension rod, a follower-plate sldably mounted on saidrod, andV spring means for exerting pressure against said plate to pressthe napkins against the inner side of the aforesaid door. ..1

2. In a napkin holding and dispensing device of the class described, avertically elongated substantially rectangular box-like casing, thefront raised sufliciently and shifted over in the direction'A and rear'Walls thereof having them lower end portions vformed with openingspermitting access to be had to the interior for placing the napkinstherein for subsequent withdrawal purposes, said openings beingsurrounded by marginal stop flanges, a pair of duplicate closing doorsfor said openings, each door comprising a plate of a size commensuratewith the openings, the plate having longitudinal side iianges swingableinto overlapping relationship with the side walls of the casing, theupper end por-tions of the plates beingV notched and formed withattaching ears pivotally connected with the side walls, the notchesbridging .the adjacent portions of the stop flanges to provide forclearance and to permit free swinging of the hinged ends ofthe plates,each plate being formed at its lower end with an inturned resilientVretaining latch cooperable withy the bottom of the casing, eachvplatebeing further formed with a relatively small centralized circular holethrough which the napkin is withdrawn, said hole being surrounded by amarginal reinforcing andfprotective bead, a horizontal suspension rod onthe interior of the casing, a pair of duplicate follower and' napkinpresser plates slidably -suspended from said rod to press the napkinsagainst the inner sides of the doors, and a coil spring interposedbetween said follower plates and connected thereto for the purposedescribed.

3. A napkin holder and dispensing device comprising a casingconstituting a container for a stack of napkins, at least one wall ofsaid container embodying an opening permitting access to be had to theinterior for placing thenapkins in position for subsequent withdrawal,said opening being surrounded by inturned marginal stop anges, a doorfor closing said opening, said door comprising a plate hingedlyconnected at its upper end portion to the exterior of the casing andhaving its lower swingable end portion movable outwardly and upwardly,said lower end portion being provided with a retaining latch, thebottom-

